July 2020 Newsletter
St. Matthias’ News: I pray everyone continues to do well during this Ordinary Time. Oh, how I wish these times were back to ordinary. Here’s the latest on our plans to reopen. We originally planned on reopening July 5th but had to continue to postpone reopening due to the surge of Covid 19 cases that hit Devine and the surrounding communities. We do have an approved plan for reopening once we feel it is safe to do so.
We continue to provide on-line Sunday Morning Prayer, Wednesday Evening Prayer, and Children’s Story time on our Facebook page. Starting July 5th, we will have a Deacon’s Mass on the 1st and 3rd Sundays. We’ve never had a Deacon’s Mass at St. Matthias before and we are looking forward to it. As usual, if you can’t watch the services live, they can be viewed anytime on our St. Matthias Facebook page.
We continue to make deliveries to the Hospice Thrift Store, Women’s Shelter, Food Pantry and HANK (Helping Abused and Neglected Kids). Thank you everyone who donates items especially during these times.
Thank you everyone for continuing your pledges to support St. Matthias. We already have two families using the online Tithe.ly account, if you need a link it’s on the website. You can mail a check to St. Matthias, P.O. Box 682, Devine, TX 78016, or utilize our new secure online giving portal (https://tithe.ly/give?c=1404414) account, that will probably be the best option for those that want to use it.
On June 13th, I graduated from the Iona Seminary with 6 of my fellow classmates and we were ordained to the Deaconate at the Camp Capers amphitheater. Reverends Eric Fenton and David Chalk presented me to the Bishop. While we were limited on who could attend, it was still a beautiful ordination which may be viewed online through a link on our St. Matthias Facebook page. I’m looking forward to serving all of you.
St. Matthias is in the process of coordinating a special event with the Diocese. We are partnering with Project Mend whom we partnered with at Council 2 years ago. Basically, they collect and repair gently used medical equipment and lovingly clean and refurbish for our veterans at no cost to them. Items like used CPAPs, wheelchairs, scooters, patient lifts, beds, bathing and shower equipment, walkers, and other medical equipment will be refurbished. Check your attics, basements, closets, and garages. Whatever happened to your grandmother’s wheelchair or Uncle Joe’s shower chair? The Project Mend Program can refurbish this equipment and give it to a veteran who needs it! We will collect the items at our St. Matthias parking lot. We will announce the date in July on our Facebook page when we plan a holding the event. In the meantime, please start looking.
From the Diocesan website: Season - Ordinary Time, also known as the Season after Pentecost, is the longest season of the church year. It is a time for us to focus on Christian Life. Parables are part of our scripture readings during this time, and they draw us in to discovering what it means to be a Christian. Parables take ordinary aspects of life, seeds, sowers, weeds, and fish and weave them into a story that turns us upside down and inside out. Every time we enter a parable, we discover something new about ourselves and our relationship with God and each other.
Blessings, Reverend Dexter Lesieur +